Shrimp and Grits

Ingredients

Steps

1. Mise en place: Put George Michael "Faith" on the record player. Listen to that organ intro while you open up that bottle of wine. Set aside a tablespoon, and take it like a shot while carefully listening to the organ intro. Assuming the wine is to your liking, set aside another tablespoon, pouring another 6 ounces into a stemmed glass.
2. Cook the bacon: In a large pan, cook bacon until crispy, occasionally pausing to sing along to the title track...using the spatula as a microphone (optional). Remove bacon, leaving grease. Chop bacon into bits.
3. Start the sauce: In pan with bacon grease, add olive oil and tomatoes (whole!) at medium low heat. Allow tomatoes to melt slowly, tossing occasionally so they don't burn. We're gonna let these dudes go for a while...longer than you think they need (probably 20ish minutes).
4. Cook the grits: While the tomatoes are going, bring water and milk to a boil in a large pot. Add grits and lower heat to simmer. Stir occasionally until water is absorbed and grits reach desired texture (at least 25 minutes). Salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.
   
   NOTE: If you didn't prep the shrimp before hand, this is a good time to do that, just don't get too sucked into IWYS that you forget to check your grits and maters occasionally. Also remember to occasionally sip from stemmed glass -- pinky out.
5. Flip the record: Somewhere in here you're gonna hit side, so flip that thing over and let's get back into it with "Hard Day" -- such a cool 80s synthfunk vibe.
6. Season and mush the maters: Once tomatoes have a mushy, slightly brown coloring, add garlic and Old Bay and stir well, mushing the tomatoes into a paste. You can pull the skins out if you want but I leave em...lots of vitamin c there Season and mush the maters: Once tomatoes have a mushy, slightly brown coloring, add garlic and Old Bay and stir well, mushing the tomatoes into a paste. You can pull the skins out if you want but I leave em...lots of vitamin c there [citation needed].
7. Add vegetables: Add peppers (bell and jalapeno) and wine and stir to combine.
8. Add stock: Add the block of shrimp stock and allow it to melt into the sauce. Stir occasionally, making sure to scrape the bits of bacon and tomato from the pan.
9. Reduce sauce: Once everything is combined and hot, allow to reduce for about 10 minutes. Texture should be rich and creamy.
10. Cook shrimp: Add the butter. Once melted, add the shrimp and cook about 5 minutes, then flip and cook for another 4 minutes. Shrimp should be pink (no grey) but not overcooked. Remove from heat just as "Kissing a Fool" hits that big climax.
11. Serve: Serve the shrimp and sauce over grits, topping with bacon, green onions, and cheddar.